Charlottesville's Real Estate Blog. Buyer &/or Seller Representation, Real Estate News
) Looking at the baseline in January for Charlottesville and Albemarle , we will hopefully be able to get a feel for what the Charlottesville real estate market is doing.
Anecdotally, there are a lot of buyers in the market, but a lot of sellers are looking at being under water … we’re not yet out of the woods.
I’m not saying that there are “lots of buyers who are buying,” but there do seem to be “lots of buyers” who are kicking the tires, and some of them are writing offers (and believe it or not, some of these offers are becoming Contracts). Take the following anecdotal evidence for what you will – 1 – I’m busy (and still taking on new clients), showing a lot of houses all over the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County (for some reason, my clients seem to cluster, no one in Waynesboro or Fluvanna yet this year) 2 – A Real Estate III agent told me that she had fourteen groups of interested folks through one of her public open houses last weekend – all with no advertising.
Ergo – is it reasonable to conclude that a house that has been on the market in Albemarle County (I’m not looking at any other market) for at least one year should now be “worth” at least 15% less than its original asking price? Looking at three randomly selected sold properties in Albemarle County in that price range in the past three months, the list-to sell percentage was a bit more stark – 85%, 75%,74% – sold for less than the original asking price.
Is it that “experts†will tell you to hold the stock in hopes of it going up in value and then explain that those with homes worth less than their mortgages shouldn’t feel bad about breaking their mortgages and defaulting ? … … But – start here – Assessments, property taxes and shifting market values in Albemarle County The new bailout/foreclosure prevention bill – start here to educate yourselves – Calculated Risk This is intended to help “thousands” (a drop in the bucket unless it is several hundred thousand), and seems to encourage homeowners to stop making payments until they are 90 days late. and Rain City Guide This is the beginning of massive government intervention to try and slow foreclosures.
CNBC noted last week that vacant homes are having a national impact on the market, but this post is about the local market – Some of the consequences of vacant houses – potential identity theft , homeowner’s insurance rates going up (or being canceled) , snowball effect on neighborhoods , … localities’ budgets will likely be impacted by all the vacancies … If you’re a buyer looking at a vacant house, you may want to (get permission) and come in before the home inspection and spend some time flushing toilets, running water, running the dishwasher, washer/dryer, etc. – the snapshot provided by a short (although thorough) home inspection may not provide all the insight you need.
Home buyers will be required to repay the credit to the government, without interest, over 15 years or when they sell the house, if there is sufficient capital gain from the sale…if the tax credit is claimed on the 2008 tax return, a $500 payment is not due until the 2010 tax return is filed.†… I wrote a story at AgentGenius the other day describing the breakdown we’ve seen in our economic system, and this picture says at least one thousand words – 
In anticipation of the soon-to-be-released “official” market report, here is some localization: When searching the entire MLS, there are currently* – 3,521 active residential properties – 557 under contract – 2,423 sold since 1 January 2008 For the purposes of this post, the charts and graphs show Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson Counties. – 2,236 active residential properties – 347 properties under contract – 1821 properties have sold since 1 January 2008 – Nearly 15 months of inventory . … 
Inventory/Absorption Rate 
Year to Date Average: 
Realtor Update : Selfishly, I’d like to see a dramatic reduction in the Realtor ranks – it would help professionalism, competence and public perception.